Beauty is in the eye of the bee-holder. The people over at the USGS Bee Inventory and Monitoring Lab do research on the native bee populations in the greater United States to get a better picture of how these bees interact with their natural environment. Speaking of pictures, they take multiple macro shots and stitch them together to create a complete and up-close view of the amazing insect. Lab chief Sam Droege makes their large catalogue of scientific photos freely available on Flickr.
Have a look at some of the lab’s stunning macro bee and wasp photos after the jump.